It is well-established that participation in shared book reading interactions with caregivers supports children’s early language and literacy development. Most of this literature focuses on reading experiences during the preschool period. Less is known about the nature and importance of such practic…

Whilst there is a large evidence base demonstrating the impact of maternal depression on the development of adolescent internalising problems, less is known about the association between paternal depression and adolescent internalising problems, and the mechanisms through which risk is conferred. Th…

This paper examines multidimensional poverty for three waves of a cohort of Irish children ranging from ages 9 to 17. Poverty is measured over the dimensions of health, education and family resources and both unidimensional and multidimensional poverty is examined. Both show a clear gradient with re…

This paper examines developments in childhood and adolescent obesity in Ireland using two waves of the Growing Up in Ireland survey. Obesity appears to level off between the two waves though there is tentative evidence that the socioeconomic gradient, measured with respect to maternal education and…

There is now fairly substantial evidence of a socioeconomic gradient in low birth weight for developed countries. The standard summary statistic for this gradient is the concentration index. Using data from the recently published Growing Up in Ireland survey, this paper calculates this index for low…

None of the many critical moments in Ireland’s often tumultuous history was more significant or defining than the Easter Rising of 1916. Central to the Rising was the Proclamation of Independence, in which Pádraig Pearse declared the new nation’s resolve to cherish all its children equally. CHERISHI…

This paper examines mobility and changes in Body Mass Index (BMI) for a sample of Irish children/adolescents across three waves of the longitudinal Growing Up in Ireland dataset. Particular attention is paid to transitions across the key BMI thresholds of overweight and obesity. Analysis is carried…

Objectives To examine the associations between preeclampsia and longitudinal child developmental and behavioural outcomes using data from a nationally representative study of children living in Ireland. Methods We used maternal-reported data from the Growing Up in Ireland longitudinal study of child…

The study examines whether and why parental job loss may stifle early child development, relying on cohort data from the population of children born in Ireland in 2007–2008 (N = 6,303) and followed around the time of the Great Recession (2008–2013). A novel approach to mediation analysis is deployed…

Background Meeting physical activity and screen time guidelines has been associated with improved health in children. Research has shown that lifestyle behaviours happen in combination and can be tracked into later life. Thus, a complex approach is needed to identify the effects of physical activity…

Caesarean section (CS) rates are increasing globally and exceed 50% in some countries. Childhood obesity has been linked to CS via lack of exposure to vaginal microflora although the literature is inconsistent. We investigated the association between CS birth and the risk of childhood obesity using…